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Discourse

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Company health

Employee growth
24% increase in the last year
Web traffic
2% increase in the last quarter
Financing
May 2021 - $20M

Ratings

G2
4.0/5
(66)
TrustPilot
3.8/5
(2)
Glassdoor
5.0/5
(5)

Discourse description

Discourse is an online platform designed to build and manage online communities. It excels at fostering discussions and knowledge sharing through features like forums, chat rooms, and knowledge bases. While suitable for various use cases, it's not specifically built for formal Q&A structures like Stack Overflow. Discourse prioritizes user-friendliness, scalability, and security, making it a strong option for companies looking to cultivate an active online community around their brand or within their organization.


Who is Discourse best for

Discourse is an ideal platform for businesses seeking to build thriving online communities. Users praise its user-friendly interface and robust features for discussions and knowledge sharing. However, some find the setup challenging and dislike the limited plugin integrations. Discourse excels at fostering engaging discussions and building a strong sense of community.

  • Best for small to medium-sized businesses.

  • Suitable for various industries seeking community engagement.


Discourse features

Supported

Discourse supports team discussions, but uses a flat, non-nested threading model.

Supported

Discourse supports Single Sign-On (SSO) via various integrations.

Supported

Discourse allows members to create and vote in polls.

Supported

Discourse supports public feedback through discussions, polls, and analytics.

Supported

Discourse supports forums, discussions, and community building with features like real-time updates and social integration.


Discourse reviews

We've summarised 66 Discourse reviews (Discourse TrustPilot reviews and Discourse G2 reviews) and summarised the main points below.

Pros of Discourse
  • Easy to use and user-friendly interface.
  • Excellent for community discussions and knowledge sharing.
  • Open-source and customizable.
  • Mailing list mode for email integration.
  • Robust moderation and user privilege features.
Cons of Discourse
  • Private messages are not private to administrators.
  • Difficult setup and customization.
  • Basic user experience.
  • Limited plugin integrations out-of-the-box.
  • Can be resource intensive and slow with large user bases.

Discourse pricing

The commentary is based on 4 reviews from Discourse G2 reviews.

Discourse offers a 14-day free trial for its paid plans. It also offers open-source, self-hostable forum software for free.

See the Discourse pricing page.

  • Discourse has a free plan.

  • Discourse has a free trial.

Starter
20 USD / month / site

Unlimited members, 2 staff, 20k monthly pageviews, discourse.group domain

Standard
100 USD / month / site

Unlimited members, 5 staff, 100k monthly pageviews, custom domain, 15+ plugins, custom themes, API and Webhook access

Business
500 USD / month / site

Unlimited members, 15 staff, 500k monthly pageviews, custom domain, 30+ plugins, custom themes, API and Webhook access, priority support, migration services

Enterprise
0 USD / month / site

Unlimited members, unlimited staff, 1M+ monthly pageviews, custom domain, 50+ plugins, custom themes, API and Webhook access, priority support, migration services, design services, custom development


Discourse alternatives

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    Bettermode
    Build vibrant online communities, easily customized.
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  • Logo of Quora Ads
    Quora Ads
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  • Logo of Odoo Forums
    Odoo Forums
    Build online communities for Q&A, knowledge sharing, and collaboration.
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  • Logo of Higher Logic Thrive
    Higher Logic Thrive
    Build thriving online communities with powerful engagement tools.
    Read more
  • Logo of Commune
    Commune
    Build thriving customer communities with forums, events, and insights.
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Discourse FAQ

  • What is Discourse and what does Discourse do?

    Discourse is an open-source platform for building online communities. It provides features like forums, chat, and knowledge bases, enabling discussions and knowledge sharing. It's user-friendly and scalable but can be resource-intensive and its private messaging lacks admin privacy.

  • How does Discourse integrate with other tools?

    Discourse integrates with popular tools through its API and plugins, including Slack, WordPress, and Single Sign-On (SSO) providers. It also supports webhooks for custom integrations. However, some users find the number of out-of-the-box integrations limited.

  • What the main competitors of Discourse?

    Discourse competes with platforms like Confluence, Forumbee, and Happeo. These alternatives offer similar features for community building, knowledge sharing, and communication. Other competitors include Document360, ClickUp, and Teachfloor, each with varying focuses like knowledge bases or online course delivery.

  • Is Discourse legit?

    Discourse is a legitimate and safe platform for online communities. It's known for its ease of use and robust features for discussions and knowledge sharing. However, some users find the setup and customization challenging and note limitations with plugin integrations.

  • How much does Discourse cost?

    Discourse pricing information is not publicly available. Contact their sales team to determine if Discourse is worth the investment for your specific needs.

  • Is Discourse customer service good?

    Discourse's customer service receives positive feedback, with users highlighting the responsiveness and helpfulness of the support team. Users appreciate that support attempts to resolve simple issues directly, rather than immediately escalating to more costly service tickets.


Reviewed by

MK
Michal Kaczor
CEO at Gralio

Michal has worked at startups for many years and writes about topics relating to software selection and IT management. As a former consultant for Bain, a business advisory company, he also knows how to understand needs of any business and find solutions to its problems.

TT
Tymon Terlikiewicz
CTO at Gralio

Tymon is a seasoned CTO who loves finding the perfect tools for any task. He recently headed up the tech department at Batmaid, a well-known Swiss company, where he managed about 60 software purchases, including CX, HR, Payroll, Marketing automation and various developer tools.

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